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2017 Under 14 National Club Championships Wrap

The 2017 Australian Helloworld Under-14 Club Championships were hosted by Dandenong Basketball from October 2-7 in 2017 at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium.

Six teams, determined at the March Basketball WA Grading Tournament, were sent from Western Australia and represented both their Association’s and our State well.

Format:

From October 2-7, 24 teams in the boys and girls competition participated across six pools.

The draw was then split, with the top two placed teams from each pool earning a berth in the Championship Division and the bottom two sides entering the Shield Division.

Playoffs were then held on Saturday, October 7 with the final placings of teams determined.

Results:

Willetton Tigers Boys (Shield Gold Medal, 13th overall)

WSutherland Sharks 70-57

LBrisbane Capitals 60-61

LBulleen Boomers 27-54

LDarwin Cyclones 45-60

WAlice Springs Suns 116-17

WCanberra Gunners 53-42

W Geelong Supercats56-49

W Perry Lakes Hawks 49-45

The Willetton Tigers team showed resilience down the stretch of the tournament after a disappointing 1-point loss to Brisbane bumped them out of Championship contention. The team regrouped and posted wins against quality sides Canberra and Geelong to set up an all Western Australian Shield Gold Medal match vs Perry Lakes, which they won.

Perry Lakes Hawks Boys (Shield Silver Medal, 14th overall)

LNorthern Tasmania Tigers 51-60

LCity of Sydney Comets 46-72

LEltham Wildcats 41-100

W Geelong Supercats63-50

LSouthern Tasmania Kangaroos 46-51

WSutherland Sharks 64-52

W Darwin Cyclones 71-59

LWilletton Tigers 45-49

It’s a tough ask when you’re placed in the same Pool as the eventual Champions, it’s even tougher when you’re in the same Pool as both Finalists. That’s where the Hawks found themselves in Pool F against Eltham and Sydney, but they improved as the week went on and strung together solid wins to finish with a Shield Silver Medal.

Rockingham Flames Boys (Shield 8th Place, 20th overall)

LNorwood Flames 32-75

W Geelong Supercats56-55

LMackay Meteors 45-56

LCanberra Gunners 42-59

W Northern Tasmania Tigers 44-43

LDarwin Cyclones 50-59

LSutherland Sharks 36-77

LNorth’s Bears 46-57

The Flames campaign was always going to be a challenge, with the team losing WABL U14 MVP Kallum Penn to a knee injury at the 2017 WABL Grand Final a fortnight earlier. The team remained competitive against quality sides throughout the tournament and won a couple of nail biters to add to the experience.

Willetton Tigers Girls (Shield 5th Place, 17th overall)

WAlice Springs Suns 94-23

LCairns Dolphins 38-39

LBulleen Boomers 34-59

WPerry Lakes Hawks 54-43

WJoondalup Wolves 65-37

LSouthern Tigers 43-49

W Maitland Mustangs53-36

W North West Tasmania Devils 43-39

A solid tournament for the Tigers whose final placing probably didn’t do justice for a team that only lost 3 games (2 by less than 7 points). Again, a tough 1-point loss against Cairns required them to win against eventual Champions Bulleen to make Championship, a task which proved too much. 4 wins across their next 5 games was good for 5th in the Shield Division.

Joondalup Wolves Girls (Shield 8th Place, 20th overall)

LDiamond Valley Eagles 38-71

L Canberra Capitals30-66

LNorth West Tasmania Devils 44-47

LWilletton Tigers 37-65

WPerry Lakes Hawks 60-29

LForestville Eagles 48-68

LNorth West Tasmania Devils 37-48

LMaitland Mustangs 37-58

A difficult start to the campaign for the Wolfpack saw them winless during the Pool stage. As a result, all three WA Girls teams ended up in Pool EE where Joondalup racked up a strong win against the Hawks.

Perry Lakes Hawks Girls (Shield 9th Place, 21st overall)

LNunawading Spectres 29-52

L Gold Coast Waves 35-72

LNewcastle Hunters 39-49

LWilletton Tigers 43-54

LJoondalup Wolves 29-60

W Alice Springs Suns 55-27

WSouthern Tasmania Kangaroos 39-33

Two quality opposition’s in Nunawading (6th overall) and Gold Coast (4th overall) got the tournament off to a rough start for the Hawks, but they persevered throughout the week. They pushed 2017 WABL Champions Willetton in an 11 point loss and finished the tournament off on a high, with two strong wins against Alice Springs and Southern Tasmania.

Congratulations to all players, coaches and referees – especially Jaimi Campbell who was appointed to officiate the Girls Gold Medal Shield game. Also a huge thank you to all the volunteers and managers who helped the teams get to Dandenong through tirelessly fundraising and organising.